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Old 08-27-15, 11:36 AM   #1
Aankia
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Join Date: Aug-2015
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Unhappy Need help

I think my baby savannah monitor just had stroke it was flailling all around and I am very woryed
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Old 08-28-15, 06:44 PM   #2
chairman
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Re: Need help

Best guess, you're looking at a case of dehydration. This usually occurs when savs are kept in open top cages of 40 gallons or less with a little or no substrate and a heat lamp on one end. Little lizards cook easy and a screen topped aquarium with a heat lamp can be used to prepare beef jerky.

If this sounds like your setup then you need to get your monitor set up properly and hydrated.

A baby savannah monitor needs at least a 2'x3' enclosure with 1' of soil and will need a 4'x8' enclosure with 2' of a burrowable substrate within 4 months. The soil needs to be moist at depth, not wet, and dry on top. The enclosure should be sealed to hold humidity. You can raise hatchlings in an adult enclosure with no issues. Its diet needs to be 100% whole prey. When they're little, dusted insects work just fine. There was an anti-mouse movement for savs for a moment but I think that the consensus now is that any whole prey item will work, mice, rats, rabbits, whole fish, etc. Your basking spot needs a surface temp (measured with a temp gun/non-contact thermometer) of 120F when he's little and 150F as an adult. It is usually better to use 2 or 3 low wattage bulbs than to use 1 high wattage bulb.

Rehydration should be gradual and mostly the result of being able to burrow and hang out underground in a nice, humid burrow.

Don't handle the monitor at all for the next couple months. Let it get used to you as a non-threatening presence. Eventually it'll associate you with food and will eagerly seek you out. Look up target training, you'll want to get him conditioned to only expect food under specific circumstances.

I followed these care instructions for my sav and he's still doing great after 5 years now. I think it is actually something of a significant milestone as those few savs that survive their first year rarely stave off the damage caused by long term dehydration beyond a couple years old.

For additional information, check out: Correct Savannah Monitor Care
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